75 Packets

Distributed Message

75 Discrete Packets

The title of this piece comes from the idea of quantum behavior as defined by Max Planck when he tried to understand how and why radiation emanated from heated objects. Essentially, energy can be absorbed or released in differential, very tiny, bundles, or ‘discrete packets’. I used bit strings, each being a letter, as the differential element, and my sometimes bizarre hoarding whim to create the packets.

Piles of Packets

It’s interesting to have both a hoard of ability and objects ate the same time. What also helps is a fascination of innocuous things. When I worked at an art supply store, we had many smaller items in independent bins, like pencils. Certain mechanical pencils came in little plastic sleeves that we were required to remove. Every Tuesday when our resupply order was delivered, without fail, there’d be at least 10 of these pencils in the shipment. The plastic sleeves would have been thrown into the trash, and I found them unique and curious. I kept close to 100, and this is how each bit string got it’s own case.

I had these peculiar individual pencil packets stored away for some reason, and as I explored thoughts and research on quantum computing, a use became apparent. According to quantum computing, one could use the multiple states of the same particle as either the on or off state of the bit. This bit packet would then be really small, and bizarrely variable. I translated the idea of such a small packet of information to a literal macro scale unit.

A slight curve invites closer inspection

Display

Each one can be sold separately.

Reflecting on the retail origins of both the sleeves and the binder clips, I resolved to imitate some kind of hanging display to show them all at once. The wishbone style unit’s broad upper half is off set dynamically by the thinness of the support post. Additionally, binary is present on the the post and wishbone as well. This came about as a natural off shoot of the construction of the stand itself. It’s actually 2 pieces that screw together for transportation purposes.

Distribution

As with certain other pieces, this piece is designed to be broken up and distributed across multiple patrons. A person who buys one or some of the packets, gets a unique stand for each packet for independent display. This is also true of the 2-piece stand, but their binary is unrelated to the message of the suspended packets. Of course, the option to obtain the piece in its entirety is available as well. In any case, a person who obtains 1 or more (but not all) packets receives a key to translate another individuals packet instead of their own.